Feed device for sheet-metal-expanding machines.



11. B. UURTLI'S-f FEED DEvIoE PoR-SHEET METAL XP'ANDING- MACHINES. JBPLmAToN FILED PEB. 1a, 1911.

'UNITED s'rA'rEs PATENT oFFICEsf LEWIS is. cUn'rIs, 'or xENILWon'rH, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR 'ro AMES STEELIAIII CoM- v IANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 0F MISSOURI.

. Toall whom it may concern:l

Be it known that I, LEWIS E. CURTIS, .a

I I citizen of the United' States, residing in Kenilworth, in the county of Cook and State of Iliinois', have invented a new and useful Improvement in. Feed Devices for Sheet- Metal-Expanding Machines, of which the following is a specification.'

In the use" ofv t-he machine for expanding slitted sheet metal patented to me April 9,

1909, in Patent No. 917715, I have found it necessary to operate the machine at a slow speed much below that to be desired because when operated rapidly the feed chains shown in the.' patent created a loud and very objectionable noise, caused a serious pounding or hammering by the different links as they came in contact with the sprocket wheels and a jerky movement by th'e-v chains.

My aim in this invention'has been to removevthis objection so as to enable. the ma chines to be operated at a much higher speed than heretofore, 'and to this end the invention consistsin the novelcombinations and novel construction of parts and devices herer inafter set forth.

In the drawing accompanying this specification,`Figu re l is a longitudinal vertical section of .one of the expander arms of my said machine showing the .opposing sheet feeding chains therein.y Fig. 2 is a plan of the lower-feed chain of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of the u-pper feed chain. Fig. ltis a section on the line 4 4 o f Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a side elevation. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section and Fig. 7 a bottom plan or the up- -per chain shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a'pl'an,

Fig. 9 a side elevation and Fig. 10 a longitudinal section of the lower chain shown .in

Fig. 1. Fig. 11 is a partial section of the sprocket wheels used with the feed chains. i

In. the drawing-I show one of the expander arms. They each consist of two castings. 17

and 18 substantially alike and united by bolts 19 passing through flanges 2O formed on the castings. yIn assembling, the casting 17 is arranged above casting 18 in one arm,

and in the other arm the casting 18 isl above casting 17. The castings are all pro- Specication of Letters Patent. -Pa'tellted Dectl 12, V1911. Application `iled February 18., 1911.

l18. This 'brings the chain- 50 in one arm above the stock, and the chain 'of the other arm below the stock. It alsoMbringS the chain 51 of one arm below the stock and the. l

chain 51 ofthe other arm above the stock.

TheA chains 50 and 51 are 4of the kind known as Morse silent chains, each link of which is composed of a. plurality ofedgewise disposed plates. vThese links are joined to one another by pivots ofthe -rocker joint Y form. By employing' the plurality of plates in the links, a chain of great stren th is obtained and the shearing stress is distributed along the wholel length of the pivot, but the plates must be cut away on one edge so that they may arch over the teeth of the sprocket wheels over which the chain passes. In this form of .chain the engagement `with the sprocket wheels is against the side of the tooth, and in operation the chain automatically finds its ownposition upon the teeth. It is this feature that allows the chain to be run ata high speed and automatically take up any wear. In my use of the chains I have modified the usual construction as follows I have placed on the operating side of the chain 50 aseries of flat plates 23,

one plate for each transverse series or rowthe whole length of the chain. rlhe platesv 23 are lattached'to the outside links`24 of each row by means of nibs or projections 25 integral with said links and extending. up-

ward through the plates and against the top of which they are upset, so that the plates are securely held and adapted to feed the stock.

cut away upon -their lower edges as shown at Fig. 6 to adapt them to arch over the sprocket teeth, other plates are left straight upon their lower'edge as shown' at Fig. 5 so as to adapt' them-to supportl the chain While some of the plates of eacliflink are y i against any pressure .put upon itthrough the plates 23.' I

In case ofchains 51, the edges ofthose ofl the links which ride upon the sprockets are out away as seen at Fig. 10, and other links ofthe same cha-in have the.correspond.

`ing edges made straightas seen at Fig. 9

and adapted t'o ride on the rollers 31 hereinafter mentioned and thus cause pressurel by the chain coming from said rollers upon the stock. The edges 26 of the' links are adapted to contact with theI stock. the chains`are allowed to come close together'jupon opposite faces of the sheets beported rollers 29 adapted to support the chains against the pressure received by them from the opposing chains 51. And in the case of chains 51 the pressure devices are adapted to create an active pressure by the .chains on the stock, and they consist of eccentrically pivoted rollers 81 provided L with springs adapted to keep in active position, a desirable construction thereof being shown in my said patent.

Each chain is carried 'and actuatedv by a sprocket 52 at one end of the arm in which it is located, and at the other end of the arm it is supported by an idler sprocket 53.l A portion of the sheet being' expanded is shown at 54 in Fig. 4.

The chains described are notv only required to exert pressure upon the stock, but.

they are also obliged to withstand considerable pressure from one another, and hence the links of ea'ch chain are uniform in height so that all receive from the pressure devices the same amount of pressure, and so that the pressure which comes upon either chain from its opposing chain may be trans-' mitted uniformly to the pressure devices of the first mentioned chain.

The chains thus constructed permit the operating of the machine in which they are used at much higher speed than was heretofore possible, are not liable to injure the sheets Vin any wayby 'catching the strands or inthe slits, and they coperate in feeding the sheets uniformly and at a satisfactory speed without the noise, hammering or jerking heretofore experienced when 4running at high speed.

. [I claim:.- u

Thus

The sectional view of the sprocket wheels shown in Fig. 11^sli`ows that the teeth of such wheels are cut transversely as -at Evito accommodate the plates of the links which are'not-arch'ed`to enable ,them t-o set over the teeth;

1. In -a machine `for expanding; sheet metal, the 'combination with diverging eX- panderarms between which -the slitted sheets are .fed, of feed chains' 50 and 51 gripping the' marginsof the sheets upon. opposite sides, .said chains 50 being'provided'with plates 23 upon the acting faces and the chains 51 having acting faces of their links made straight and arranged at a uniform level yso as to bear upon the stock,

the lin-ks of both said chains consisting of edgewise disposed plates some of which are cut away on one edge to enable 'them to arch lover the sprocket teeth, and others of which are left` straight on thecorresponding edge to adapt .them to sup ort pressure.v

2. In a machine. For expandingfsheet metal, the combinationwith diverging eX- pander arms. between which the slitted sheets are fed, of feed chains bearing directly upon'oneside of the sheets and provided with atplates ontheir acting faces, the links of the chains being uniform in height and adapted to support theV plates at all points, and feeding devices on the opposite side of the sheets between which and said .chains the sheet is rmly gripped, the links of both said chains consisting of edge- `wise disposed plates some of which are cut -away on one edge to enable them to ,arch

over the sprocket teeth, and others of which are left straight on the corresponding edge to adapt them to support pressure.

In a machine for expanding sheet metal, the .combination with diverging expanderv arms between which the slitted sheets are fed, of feed chains bearing directly upon one side of the sheets, and other feeding chains bearing directly on the other side of the sheets and having vtheir acting faces arranged at a uniform level adapting them to bear on the stock, said chains gripping the margins of the sheets firmly between them, the links of both said chains consisting of edgewise disposed plates some of which are cut away on one edge to enable vthem to arch over the sprocket teeth, and

others of which are left straight onthe corresponding edge to adapt them to support pressure.

4. In 'a machine for expanding sheet metal, the combination with diverging eX- pander arms between which the slitted sheets are fed, of feed chains 50 and 51 gripping the margins of the sheets upon opposite sides, said chains 50 being provided roo 1,611,585'. f l B AWith'p'lates 23fupon the'acting-facesand lthe straight on the corresponding edge to adapt v chains 51 havngacting-faces oftheir links them to support pressure and pressure crev10 made stra-ight' and arranged. atl a uniform -ating devicesacting on the portions of said i lcvelso as tobear upon the stock, the links chains which are inlcontact with-the sheets.

. disposedplatesl some of which -are cutaway Vitnesses :4

ofy both said .chains consisting of ledgewise LEWIS" E.v CURTIS.

o'n one edge to enablethem to'arch over the 'I-I. M MUNDAY,

'. sprocket teeth, and others of Which'alel left EDW. S. EVARTS. v 

